“Dear PoPville,
I found this yorkie yesterday afternoon running around grant circle. He’s a male yorkie with a blue harness, no collar and tag, and the microchip was not registered.
They can contact me at [email protected].
I know someone misses him dearly and I want him to reunite with his owners.”
By popular demand (I got threats over this!!!) please accept the Adventures of Ernie the Flying Dog Vol. 3.
Ed. Note: I had the great pleasure of meeting Ernie in person on Thursday and I can personally vouch that he is as cool in real life as he appears in the photos. Stay tuned for Vol. 4 in late June…
“Dear PoP,
A “No Dog Walking” sign went up in Rock Creek Cemetery sometime in the past week (I noticed it on Saturday). I fear that folks may have been taking advantage of the cemetery – allowing their dogs to go off leash or not cleaning up after them, but I’m really sad to lose my favorite dog walking locale. I wonder if you knew any more about it, or who I could email at the church to politely request that they rethink their decision.”
Another reader wonders if the ban might be related to the recent theft of bronze sculptures or a school coming to the grounds.
I know it may sound strange to people not familiar with the cemetery but this has long been a spot for people to take their dogs. Anyone know if folks take dogs to Congressional Cemetery?
Rock Creek Church Cemetery is located at Rock Creek Church Rd and Webster St, NW, near the Old Soldiers Home grounds.
Sassafras first went missing April 9th. Keep yours eyes peeled.
Not the dog in question, this dog was actually very chill
“Dear PoP,
I’m trying my best to come up with a diplomatic solution to this problem and I hope you can help by posting this letter!
I live right in Mt. Pleasant, with my bedroom window directly facing Heller’s Bakery. For the past several months, every Saturday morning someone goes into Heller’s and ties his or her dog out front–and leaves it out there all alone for sometimes up to an hour. The dog get very upset and yelps and yelps and yelps at the top of its little canine lungs.
Two things: don’t you think this is cruel to the animal? This isn’t a temper tantrum this dog is having–my friend says it just wants a donut!–it’s a fit of pain and sadness that its tied to some poll while its owner sits inside, apparently deaf to its cries.
On a more selfish note, this dog is waking up the entire neighborhood. I sit here writing this now [Sat.] at 10:30 am which isn’t an unreasonable time to be awakened, but sometimes it’s 8:30 or 9 am, which is a bit much on a Saturday morning when sometimes all you want is to wake up naturally at a later hour after a long hard workweek, don’t you think?
I’m at my wit’s end, and short of marching into Heller’s and demanding to know the identity of the owner, I don’t know what to do to solve this problem. Heller’s is my neighborhood bakery, and I know the people who work there and don’t want to start a fight or make a scene, because chances are I won’t be very nice to whoever in there is waking me up every Saturday morning AND borderline abusing his or her pooch!”
In mid-March we had an epic conversation about a similar incident in Adams Morgan. For this specific instance – if the dog is tied up for an hour – I’m just gonna straight say it – that is bullshit. If the dog is barking/yelping for up to an hour with no attention, no matter what time of day it is, that is bullshit. It’s even worse that it’s before 9am on the weekend.
So what would you guys do? I’m afraid I think the only solution is to go to the bakery the next time this happens and talk calmly to the owner. Say something like – what a cute/cool dog but I’ve noticed he/she has been barking every Sat. morning for a long time – is there anything we can do about this? Short and sweet and friendly is the key in my opinion.
Right? Or do you think the reader (and I) have unrealistic expectations? Would it make a difference if the dog was only barking/crying for 15 minutes?
Photo by PoPville flickr user sciascia
“Dear PoP,
I am adopting a puppy soon and was hoping your readers could help me out with recommendations. I am new to having a dog, so I need all the help I can get. I need recommendations for everything – vets, groomers, dog walkers, doggy daycare, kennels/boarding, anything and everything will be helpful to me. I live in Columbia Heights, but I do have a car.
PS. Where does Ernie hangout? I am pretty sure my pup will want to be his bud.”
We talked about some dog trainers here and had lots of vet recommendations here. We talked about where to get your pet microchipped here. Lastly, Eric Nuzum introduced us to Little Rascals Doggie Day Care here.
So for those that have or have had puppies – what do you wish you knew back then?
Ed. Note: I’m happy to say that Mr. Larry’s Pet Supplies has officially opened at 3303 11th St, NW in Columbia Heights:
Ernie the flying dog from Columbia Heights was introduced to PoPville exactly a week ago in an ‘afternoon animal fix’. In the week that has passed a massive grassroots organization has emerged encouraging me to feature Ernie in his own series. In this case, the will of the people shall not be denied.
Stay tuned for more Adventures of Ernie the Flying Dog next month.
Couple more shots after the jump. (more…)
Photo by PoPville flickr user fromcaliw/love
“Dear PoP,
I have a public health / pet question for the blog: Is it legal to let your dog go to the bathroom in the middle of the sidewalk? I saw a woman letting her pup poop on the sidewalk on 15th St NW, as if that were perfectly normal. There were plenty of available tree boxes nearby. If it’s not illegal, it’s certainly disgusting and unsanitary… it’s bad enough to track dirt back into your home, but that?! Just wondering whether there were something I could say to her (e.g. “You know, that’s illegal”) to discourage her from allowing it again.”
I guess we’re looking at two issues here – first is it legal? I gotta think as long as the owner cleans it up it is legal, right? Second – if it is legal, should it be legal?
Photo by PoPville flickr user Vileinist
“Dear PoP,
I have a rather sad request – how can I surrender my cat to a shelter in DC? I took in a friend’s cat temporarily, as they were moving a few hundred miles and couldn’t yet bring the cat out. Well, they ended up turning around and moving back to DC in about a week’s time, and have since refused to take back the cat. I tolerate the cat, but my roommate (rightfully so) hates her; the cat is sweet to us, but she is aggressive to strangers, making it difficult to have friends over. After several months of trying to “work it out” through behavior modification and positive reinforcement, this weekend was the final straw, and I’ve been given an ultimatum to either lose the cat or move out. The original owner is still steadfastly refusing to take back the cat (saying it’s “my problem now”). I would drop her on his doorstep, but in the past he’s threatened to set her loose on the streets, and I couldn’t bear to have her become homeless.
So that brings me to my question: where can I surrender this cat in DC? It appears that some of the well known agencies (WARL, Wash Humane) don’t accept surrenders. (And before the Peanut Gallery rips me apart for wanting to give her up, I want to say that while I do like this cat, I can’t afford to break my lease/lose my roommate, and I am moving to the west coast in six months!) Thank you”
This is a very sad situation – anyone who takes in cats?
I’m not sure if this guy is MPD, animal control or metro transit police but whoever he is, he definitely deserves props. [Update: I’m now told this is Animal Control Officer Shawn Covington of the Washington Humane Society] This was the scene outside of the Woodley Park metro around 3pm Sat. afternoon. I got there just while this was going down but apparently a pet bird got loose and flew into the tree. Without hesitation this awesome cop climbed the tree in like 2 seconds. He was trying to coax the bird onto a stick and then his finger but ultimately the bird flew onto his back and the cop just climbed down. The owner was obviously super grateful. So props to this cop for going above and beyond.
But the lesson I’m gonna take away from this incident – when sight seeing it might be a good idea to leave your pet bird at home.
More photos including the conclusion after the jump. (more…)